Area native back from stranded cruise ship

Herald native Robert Miles had been planning a relaxing vacation with three of his friends on Carnival's Triumph Cruise ship. The four men left Galveston, Tx. Thursday, Feb. 7 for a four-night excursion to Mexico and back. After enjoying the trip and exploring Mexico, the trip quickly turned sour Monday when a fire stranded t...

Herald native Robert Miles had been planning a relaxing vacation with three of his friends on Carnival's Triumph Cruise ship. The four men left Galveston, Tx. Thursday, Feb. 7 for a four-night excursion to Mexico and back. After enjoying the trip and exploring Mexico, the trip quickly turned sour Monday when a fire stranded the ship in the Gulf of Mexico for four days until it was towed into Mobile, Ala. A total of 3,100 passengers and 1,100 crew members finally left the ship late Thursday (last night.)

Keeping in constant contact with Robert through his cell phone was his mother, Ann Harrelson, who works at the White County Senior Citizen Center in Carmi. Harrelson was also receiving automated updates from the cruise line twice daily and had access to someone at the company via their call center as well. However, the information and contact did not prevent her from worrying about her son on the ship.

"It was a great Valentine's Day present to know my child was back on ground," said Harrelson. "I did worry because I didn't know for sure what was happening. Robert said we knew a lot of things through television before they knew on the ship."

Harrelson said she talked to Robert twice on Thursday while she was working at the White County Senior Citizen's Center. Then, she was on the phone with him as the ship was pulled into Mobile and she noted he said, "We can see land."

Robert said the first thing he wanted to do after getting off the ship was to take a hot shower and get some sleep. Harrelson said he was in good spirits and noted it was horrible but it could have been worse.

"Robert was very tired," said Harrelson. "They weren't getting much sleep because it was so hot. They drug their mattresses out on the deck to sleep, and then as they got closer to land, it got really cold Wednesday night. Robert also said he didn't want to eat any fruit or dry cereal for a long time. He was afraid to eat the meat they had because there was no way to keep it cold and he wasn't sure how safe it was."

Robert and his friends were positioned on the third floor of the ship and their room was not one that was flooded, but there were rooms where toilets were overflowing and even traveling down the walls into rooms below.

"The first two nights, there were no bathrooms working so they used plastic bags and tied them up and put them in the hallway," said Harrelson. "They finally got five bathrooms working and the lines were long. However, they had to clean them every 10 minutes to keep them operable for those on board."

As far as food, Robert told his mother a couple of boats came up and gave them food, but it wasn't enough for over 4,000 people. He said as they got closer to land, helicopters dropped off cooked shrimp and lobster. She explained passengers could not transfer to another boat because when the ship is stranded, it sits and rocks and crews were fearful another boat pulled up close to load passengers might crash into the boat and cause damage.

Page 2 of 2 - Robert's group tried to make the best of it and maintained their sense of humor. Once they got back to land, Robert and a friend were catching a flight back to Dallas, where he resides while the other two were riding a bus back to Galveston, Tx. to pick up the car and then drive back to Dallas.

Robert moved to Dallas for the second time four years ago and currently works in a restaurant and for a catering service and also does some catering personally on the side. He plans to attend culinary school soon to become a chef. The 27-year-old is a 2003 graduate of Carmi-White County High School and was home for Christmas for a visit with family and friends. While in high school, he was very active in drama and choir and was crowned Sweetheart King during the Sweetheart Dance.

Robert is returning in May to attend his 10-year reunion and is providing the catering for the event. Prior to his last move to Dallas, he worked for the White County Senior Citizen's Center in the office and was really passionate about the success of the center. If he were in Carmi, he would be on the front line assisting with the pancake breakfast.

The White County Senior Center will host a pancake breakfast Saturday, Feb. 16 from 6 until 10:30 a.m. The meal will include all the pancakes and sausage one can eat. The cost of the meal is $6.50. Harrelson, who serves as the kitchen manager for the location, will be on the line assisting with the fundraiser.

Harrelson and her husband, Deon, have lived most of their lives in Herald and moved to Carmi this past August. They have nine children total with their blended families.

The cruise was the first ever for Robert and despite his experience, he is not leery of setting sail for another one in the future.